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(No Model.)

P A. FINN. GHILDS GAME INSTRUCTOR.

N0. 515,076. Patented Feb. 20,1894,

WITNESSES:

ATTORN EY ma COMPANY.

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a, a, a, or similar materials, and are intro- UNITED STATES ATENT Prion,

PHILIP A. FINN, or NEW YORK, N. Y.

CHILDS GAME INSTRUCTOR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 515,076, dated February 20, 1894.

Application filed October 3, 1893.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, PHILIP A. FINN, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of New York, in the county of New York and State of New York, have invented a certain new and useful Ohilds Game Instructor, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to a new and useful device for entertaining and simultaneously instructing children.

Asis well-known, all children have a greater tendency to play than to study, and especially when very young, it is difficult to get them to take any interest whatsoever in the acquisition of knowledge. My new device is a toy for their amusement, and-at the same time an instructor of their intelligence.

The nature of my invention is as follows, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1, illustrates a plan view of the apparatus. Fig. 2, illustrates avertical section thereof, on the line 1, 1 of Fig. 1, looking in the Fig. 3, illustrates an end view of a modified construction. This figure is reduced in size, as compared with the others.

A is a board or table-like surface, in which are made a number of recesses or shallow holes B, B, 850. In the bottom of each of these recesses is a letter of the alphabet, as shown.

C is what I term the alley of the board, which is inclined from the bottom toward the top and is provided on the left-hand side, with a ledge or upwardly projecting flange D, and on the other side with a raised edge E, which entirely surrounds the board.

F is a ball of any suitable material.

G are two short legs on the under side of the board, near the upper edge thereof, which give a slight elevation to its upper edge.

In Fig. 3, I illustrate a modified construction. In it the holes in the board extend completely through it, and the letters or other characters are produced upon stiff card-board,

duced into a slideway,b,b', made on the back of the board, until the letters coincide or register with the holes in the board, so that Serial No. 487,061- (No model.)

they can be seen through them. I prefer this construction because I then employ more than one card-board, and on one side of them I paint or otherwise produce the letters of the alphabet, as above described, and on another, numbers, and on another short words or other similar instructing and amusing characters or symbols. Thus the several pieces of card-board, being inserted in the slideway, will always remain there, suitably protected and ready for use, and they may be pulled out and changed in their order, as the children may prefer, or as their age may dictate. Of course, the figures or characters which are on the upper one only will be seen through the holes in the board.

The' operation is as follows: The child holds the ball F in his hands and either allows it to run down the alley O, or starts it on its course with a slight impulse. At the upper end of the alley, it is deflected by the raised edge E, toward the medial line of the board or table, and after passing a short distance, it responds to theaction of gravity, owing to the surface of the board or table being inclined, and then rolls downwardly toward the bottom of the board, and in among the recesses B, B, and finally enters and becomes lodged in one or the other of them. A child is amused by the movements of the ball, and when it finally lodges in one or the other of the recesses, is curious to know the name of the letter in the bottom of the recess, and these letters may be given a certain-value; as, for instance, the number they represent in the alphabet. The letter A would have an equivalent value of 1, the letter D- I, J 10, and so. In this way, the child is not only amused, but he is, unconsciouslyto himself, taught the name, appearance, shape and order of theletters of the alphabet, and also incidentally given a lesson in arithmetic. And, as before stated, when the construction shown in Fig. 3 is employed, the figures or characters, which appear in the bottom of the holes may be indefinitely varied, depending upon the number of sheets of card-board, which are used, each of which will have difierent characters or figures on them.

It will be obvious that the alphabetical letters maybe made in different characters, and together in the slideway, and having figures capitals and small letters may be employed, or characters printed or otherwise produced so that the child will ascertain the various on them, substantially as set fort forms of the letters.

Having described my invention, I claim York and State of New York, this 28th day The above described toy, comprising an inclined base board having a series of holes through it and a slide-Way for cards or similar sheets, on its under side, an alley down one side of the board and a plurality of cards or thin boards, adapted to be introduced all of September, A. D. 1898.

PHILIP A. FINN.

Witnesses:

PHILLIPS ABBOTT, JOHN E. LACEY.

Signed at New York, in the county of New 15 

